SAUDI Arabia’s Idea Soda Ash and Calcium Chloride Company (ISACC) has announced plans for two factories that will supply local and export markets. They are to be set up within an industrial complex ISACC is developing in Yanbu.

The soda ash plant with capacity of 300,000 tonnes, will be the first of its kind in the Gulf and largest in the Mena area.

The calcium chloride plant will also be the largest in the Mena region with annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes.

The project will be owned and managed by InoChem (Khair Inorganic Chemical Industries Company) – a Saudi closed joint stock company under establishment.

Abdul Aziz Yahya Al Muaiyyad, managing director and chief executive officer of ISACC, said the project was part of the kingdom’s strategy to maximise investment in non-oil national resources and diversify income sources.

He praised the continuous and effective support provided by the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu for all the projects in Yanbu Industrial City.

Al Muaiyyad further said the allocated land is sufficient not only to meet current needs for the production of soda ash and calcium chloride, but also takes in consideration the company’s strategic growth master plan to meet the future growth of the regional demand.

Conservative market studies indicate that the demand for soda ash in the Mena will reach 2.15 million tonnes annually by 2023, while demand for calcium chloride in the Mena will reach some 722,000 tonnes annually by 2023.

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